Chinese mining giant Meijin has plans to develop a AUD$5 billion coal project in the tropical Australian state of Queensland which will dwarf its existing regional peers in scale.
The Morning Bulletin reports that the MacMines ChinaStone project has a projected annual output of 60 million tonnes of coal per annum, of which 45 million will be exported abroad.

Upon reaching peak production ChinaStone will export four times more coal than the current largest coal mine in the region, the Goonyella Riverside near Moranbah.

MacMines is fully owned by China's Meijin Group, a company headquartered in the coal rich northern province of Shanxi and one of the largest coke producers in the country.

The new development joins the ranks of several gargantuan coal projects currently under development in Australia despite enervated spot prices this year. GVK Hancock and India's Adani are both forging ahead with multi-billion dollar coal mines on a similar scale to MacMines'.

The project remains contingent upon the Queensland government's approval of a future environmental impact statement, which is slated for completion at the end of April next year.